A labor market flooded with unemployed workers continued to keep a lid on wages and benefits in the last three months, even as consumers ramped up spending.

Wages and salaries grew just 0.3% in the third quarter this year from the previous quarter, according to a government employment cost index. Benefits increased 0.1%, the slowest growth rate since 1999, according to employment cost data released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.